1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for use as a water treatment apparatus.
2. Prior Art The increasing public awareness relating to the degradation of domestic water quality has generated increasing interest in the location of water conditioning units at the point of use rather than at a central treatment facility. At present, municipalities treat drinking water supplies to kill water-borne bacteria with varying degrees of effectiveness. However, most municipalities do not attempt to treat water supplies for toxic chemicals and removal thereof is left up to the user. In addition, substantial amounts of sediment appear in domestic water supplies. This sediment is in addition to the mineral ions, notably calcium and magnesium, which are characteristic of hard water. It is recognized that removal of the mineral ions causing hard water is the responsibility of the water user rather than the water supplier.
Several different types of water conditioning devices have been utilized to remove one or more of the different contaminents at the point of use. The conventional types of water softener which utilize a rechargeable cation resin to effect an ion exchange between calcium and magnesium ions and sodium ions to produce a soluble sodium salt before the water enters the facility is commonplace. The water softener utilizes a single resin which is capable of being recharged by reversing the ion exchange process and flushing the system while diverting the output of the water softener to a discharge drain. A similar unit is often used to effect dealkalizing operations utilizing a separate chamber containing an anion resin which will remove bicarbonate ions.
An ion exchange process which removes those polarized ionic contaminants is often supplemented with an additional container containing an activated carbon, typically silver-activated charcoal, which adsorbs certain material. Among these adsorbed materials are non-polar organics including various hydrocarbons. The activation of the carbon, typically with silver, has been shown to remove harmful bacteria. Thus, the user desiring to effect broad spectrum water treatment at his facility is faced today with connecting a plurality of treatment devices in series between the municipal water supply and the water output taps. The homeowner with a relatively low volume water usage has used a double chamber series-connected portable water conditioner wherein a cation and an anion resin are located in a single contiainer. A serially-connected activated charcoal container, frequently expressly made to be disposable, is also provided. Among these relatively low volume portable water conditioners are the apparatus described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,287,057 and 4,541,926.
The typical home water conditioner is characterized by a container having a number of compartments therein, each containing a different purifying media separated by screens which may be themselves silver activated to reduce or eliminate harmful bacteria. The home water conditioner of U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,926 shows two identical containers, differing only in size, one of which contains a mixture of a cation and an anion resin. The device has been found to produce the desired results for low-volume home water usage.